Project Road Trip

[rohnk]

Still trying to finish my garage! I keep getting roped into helping paint the kids bedrooms and other various projects. After school stuff and work seem to get in the way too. Hopefully soon though!

[Prafeston]

No rush.. just hadn't heard from you in awhile. Thought I'd see if there was any progress.

[mick]

I don't know how I missed these pics, I have been following your thread, and missed the pics!  Nice SX/4!  Love the pose/dear pic.   I have an old one of my wife on the Kammback I'll have to dig out.

[rohnk]

Thanks! My wife was bing goofy that day and came up with the idea. 15 years of marriage and she is still a model to me!

For the shop, I insulated one wall and panelled it. Then I had to fix some cabinets I bought on the cheap and put them in place. Now I am working on the base cabinets and trying to clean everything up. Hopefully I will be able to move the Eagle in soon and start work on it.

I finished painting my oldest daughters room last night so we will be moving her in this weekend. Combine that with her cheerleading, school play, getting home from work at 6pm, I don't get a lot of time to work on my projects! Not complaining, just having trouble prioritizing!

[Baskinator]

So the SX/4 looks pretty great on the outside already. What kind of things (at least that you know of) need to be done to it? Do you have any plans for modifications, or do you plan on restoring it to "like new"? Also, is there any rust that needs tending to and have you thought about rust prevention?

Hope you get things sorted out so you can start work on it. I sure wish I had a garage and time for mine right now

[rohnk]

There is surface rust in spots all over the body. The underside was good when I bought it, just surface rust again. I hope I don't find any areas that need repair as I do not have a welder but there is a body shop down the street from me.

My plan is to remove all exterior trim, grill, bumpers, lights, glass, etc. and sand the entire body down. I'm also going to remove the entire interior and clean, smooth out and paint all the plastic pieces. The seats and upholstrey will be hired out for covers and the floor will be either vinyl or spray on Lizard Skin coating.

Engine will be removed to be rebuilt. It runs good now, but it is one of those "why not" deals since it will eventually need some attention. I plan to have that professionally built. I 've already ordered a carb and TFI upgrade from GRONK. All hoses, belts and other rubber pieces will be replaced. All brakes will be redone.

Basically a restore, but not a fancy restore. Make it safe, reliable, durable and fun. I plan to use it to drive back and forth to work (70 miles day) and take it on the sand for paly time now and then. Of course there is always a car show or two to attend so we'll do that with it as well.

[rohnk]

Just a quick update to those interested.

Started clearing out my storage locker the other day and bringing all the parts home to begin cleaning them up and taking inventory. I have a lot of interior pieces and a couple of complete dashes. I even found an extra spoiler in my parts store!

I also bought a few radios and odds and ends off the auction site to put aside and save for later. I have about 7 radios to choose from now so when the time comes, I can decide which one looks/works best and install it. All the others will be cleaned up and repaired.

As far as work goes on Road Trip, I began labeeling wires and hoses so I can perform the carb swap and distributor upgrade in the near future. I decided to get the car running good again before I look at rebuilding the engine. Finances are tight right now and I need to just work with what I have.

Pics to come when I get further! My garage project turned out great and I am very happy with my work shop now. I just need to take a few pics to share with you fine folks!

Take care and thanks for reading! 

[Prafeston]

Sounds like the work is about to start on Road Trip!

I may be interested in one of those radios when you get the chance to test them all. Mine looks great, but the tape deck doesn't work right. Thanks.

[shanebo]

I was thinking about making a mold of my end caps in plaster of paris or somthing of that nature. once thats done all one would have to do is layer in rosin and cheese cloth to the desired thickness. I tried this once with an old eagle side badge... ...it actually turned out looking pretty close to the original when I sprayed it silver. The hardest part would be finding a good material that is strong yet won't bond to the fiberglass rosin preventing it from being cleanly released. after the cast was made mounting harware could be fashioned....Sorry I got a bit off topic but ive been thinking about a frugal endcap fabrication for a while now.

[rohnk]

Well it has been a while since I updated this thread so I figured I would tonight.

I pulled the Carter carb off and unboxed the Motorcraft kit I bought last October from GRONK. Everything looks so nice! I'm working on this slowly and documenting what I can along the way. I'm doing the HEI upgrades, carb, plugs, wires, coil and the whole nine yards. I also want to remove as many vac lines as I can. Slow and steady, hope to have it running by next Thursday.

[Prafeston]

Awesome! Can't wait to see that thing running! I'll give you a slow clap when you do!

[rohnk]

I don't want the clap! Oh, nevermind, not that kind of clap...

I'll have to get myself set up on You Tube so I can post videos.

[rohnk]

More work on the carb conversion today. I don't get a lot of time to work on it continuously with the family, but still getting along. I have the Motorcraft mounted and hooked up the accelerator. I also put in a new fuel filter since it was all disconnected anyway and the other one looked old. I have a lot of vac lines to deal with and can't figure out what everything goes too. I took pictures as I disassembled the Carter set-up so I have a reference. Just so much stuff to hook up and others I think I can get rid of but not sure what.

[Prafeston]

A lot can go. The only things really that get hooked back up are a straight hose from your dizzy to the engine side of the carb. The one port on top of the carb will go to your canister. And your PCV valve will run hose to the back of the carb. Pretty simple. Everything else pretty much goes. Plug all the holes!

[rohnk]

Thanks for the info Rafe.

I think I will heed GRONK's advice for now and just cap off anything that was disconnected. Once I have it running and the timing set, I want to run it for a little bit to get some seat time. Then I plan to tear it down and begin a rebuild of the entire car. Not all at once though. I keep changing my mind since this is a project car but I also want to drive it!

Guess I just need to save up some cash and buy another Eagle to drive so I can rebuild Road Trip. Then I can have more road trips!